Once Kitty Harbor restored the cat to health, the problem became how to reunite him with his family. Lewis couldn't return to Seattle to get him, and asthma precluded a trip as cargo.

"We're hoping a kitty fan is, or knows of someone who is, traveling from Seattle to Ohio (Dayton, Columbus, Indianapolis, Detroit) sometime in the next month, whether by car or flight," Kitty Harbor wrote on Facebook.

Robin Yong, a cat-loving Alaska Airlines employee, saw the post and made the best of 10 travel offers for Kitty.

"We hadn't seen Chicago yet, so I thought, why not," Young said in an Alaska Airlines blog post. "We can help out, and see the sights at the same time."

Yong and her wife, Jane, flew to Chicago, rented a car, and drove two and a half hours to Lafayette, Indiana, where they met Lewis, who had driven two hours as well from Dayton, Ohio. Then they saw some sights in Chicago and flew home the next day.

Lewis told Alaska Airlines that Itty Bitty has put some weight back on since arriving in the Midwest, and his wounds are healing nicely.